One Nation, Underprivileged: Why American Poverty Affects Us All

Mark Robert Rank

Abstract

Despite its enormous wealth, the United States leads the industrialized world in poverty. One Nation, Underprivileged unravels this disturbing paradox by offering a different understanding of American poverty. It debunks many of Americans' most common myths about the poor, while at the same time providing a new framework for addressing this enormous social and economic problem. The author shows that the fundamental causes of poverty are to be found in America's economic structure and political policy failures, rather than individual shortcomings or attitudes. He establishes for the first time ... More

Despite its enormous wealth, the United States leads the industrialized world in poverty. One Nation, Underprivileged unravels this disturbing paradox by offering a different understanding of American poverty. It debunks many of Americans' most common myths about the poor, while at the same time providing a new framework for addressing this enormous social and economic problem. The author shows that the fundamental causes of poverty are to be found in America's economic structure and political policy failures, rather than individual shortcomings or attitudes. He establishes for the first time that a significant percentage of Americans will experience poverty during their adult lifetimes, and firmly demonstrates that poverty is an issue of vital national concern. Ultimately, the author provides the reader with a new paradigm for understanding poverty, and outlines a set of strategies that will reduce the phenomenon in America. One Nation, Underprivileged represents a starting point for rekindling a national focus upon America's most vexing social and economic problem.

End Matter

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